INF Daily has posted some excellent set photos of the shoot in Cornwall, England.

Mia Wasikowska (playing Alice) and Tim Burton are prominent. Helena Bonham Carter is also on the set with baby Nell. Nell looks like she's in period costume, too... might she make a cameo appearance as an extra like first-born Billy Ray in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?

In addition to Alice, Depp will also be in two other upcoming Disney films: he will return as Captain Jack Sparrow in the fourth installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and as the Lone Ranger's sidekick, Tonto, in a new cinematic adaption of the western serial (Depp is part Cherokee in addition to his German and Irish ancestry).

But after all of this talk about Alice in Wonderland, some of us are still wondering about Tim Burton's other film in his two-flick agreement with Walt Disney Studios: a feature-length, stop-motion animated version of Frankenweenie.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Tomlinson, a Beverly native, has recently appeared in the teen comedy Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging.

The young actress commented on how enjoyable it has been to work on the film:

"I think it's amazing. I can't get over it.

"Everyone has been so nice to me on set.

"It's a small part, but it's well worth it. It's brilliant."

She began filming her scenes last week in Plymouth, and will continue to do so for the next three weeks. After that, she's returning back to school.

The article also focused on Tomlinson talking about Johnny Depp, who is supposed to play the role of the Mad Hatter in the computer-generated realm of Wonderland.

"Unfortunately, Johnny Depp is filming the animation scenes in the US so I won't meet him on set.

"But, hopefully, I'll get the chance during the premier.

"I'll be thrilled when I meet him, but also probably a little star-struck.

"I just have to act normal. Everyone says he is a really lovely guy."

Matt Lucas, who will play the roles of Tweedledee and Tweedledum, very recently also said that Depp would be in Los Angeles for his scenes. So unless both he and Tomlinson are misled, Depp will most likely be in the film (although it's not clear whether all of Wonderland will be computer animated with the motion-capture technology or just certain elements or characters in it).

Production is reportedly already immense: Between 600 and 700 people, ranging from actors, extras, cameramen and production staff, are said to be operating at the site. Hundreds of cars park in a field converted to a make-shift car park. Adjacent to them are large trailers presumably used for wardrobe fittings and catering and hospitality. Countless taxis and catering companies are present at the site, and all the actors and production staff involved are presumably staying and dining locally.

Over the next few weeks 250 extras, most of which are from Plymouth and its general area, will attend shoots, dressed in Victorian-era clothing.

And what of Mr. Johnny Depp, who rumor-hungry fans online have been clamoring about playing the Mad Hatter? A spokeswoman for the production has said that the actor won’t be filming at Antony, in Plymouth, or indeed anywhere in the UK. She added that Disney had not even confirmed he would be appearing in the film at all.

We will have to wait and see who is in the film officially from a Disney press release. But for now, the meager scraps of information on Depp's supposed presence point to the contrary.

The Herald has a photo slide show of some of the extras for the film in this link, as well as a video.

Beetlejuice has returned on DVD and Blu-Ray to commemorate the film's 20th anniversary. Special features (which are far too sparse, unfortunately) include the music-only track featuring every note of Danny Elfman's score and three episodes of the animated TV series based on the comedic feature film.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Artwork and audio samples for the upcoming "Nightmare Revisited" CD are on Disney Music. The songs and score from the soundtrack of The Nightmare Before Christmas are covered by a plethora of artists in a variety of genres, including punk, alternative rock, electronica, orchestral, and even a flamenco dance version of "Oogie Boogie's Song," to name a few of the many styles. Danny Elfman also narrates the Opening and Closing segments over his original score.

In an interview discussing her past, current, and future works, choreographer Francesca Jaynes revealed that she will be working on Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. In the lengthy interview, Jaynes talked about her collaborations with Tim Burton -- starting with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and then Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street -- how she communicates with him, and what she sees as his vision for the film and how she executes it.

Jaynes begins with discussing the challenge of choreographing Deep Roy -- one man who had to interact with hundreds of Oompa Loompa versions of himself -- in Charlie:

"The filming of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was so complicated that some days we were really pleased just to get a couple of seconds of finished footage in the can - thankfully not all the film was that slow."

She then went on to compare working with director Mike Leigh (on the Gilbert and Sullivan story Topsy Turvy) and Tim Burton:

"The differences between Mike and Tim are huge. With Mike you can talk and talk and talk about a subject but Tim, he has got to see it. I can start to talk to Tim about a dance and I can see his eyes start to glaze over. Then he'll go: 'Get some dancers, show me.' As soon as he sees it, then he can talk about it.

"I can understand why Tim always has the same team around him because you have got to have that understanding. He's quite shy but very perceptive. He's a very visual person."

On getting to know Burton:

"I went for an interview for Charlie with the producers and I didn't think it had gone very well at all. It was one of those interviews where I couldn't remember anything and I thought it all sounded a bit vague. The problem was that I had had a terrible time on De-Lovely, the Cole Porter musical, and I was a bit wary of working with Americans but then they invited me back to meet Tim.

"My rather stumbling interview worked in my favour because the producers knew you can't have someone who talks at Tim, you have to listen because Tim sometimes finds it hard to articulate what he's after which is why he'll often grab a pen and do you a drawing."

Jaynes recalled that Burton was interested in working with her because of her work on A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, Steven Spielberg's science-fiction tribute to the late master director Stanley Kubrick:

"The first thing that Tim said to me was 'I like the movement you did with Jude Law', referring to the work I had done on AI, and he was the only person, outside family and friends, who had noticed the work that went into that and that's because of the way that he animates his stop- motion work."

Jaynes work in the movie suggests that dance will be in Alice in Wonderland, if only briefly (maybe one scene or two). But in what context? In Lewis Carroll's original book, there are a couple of songs. Perhaps these will be adapted in Burton's cinematic version of the story? Or perhaps it'll be for character motion in general, for the weird assortment of Wonderland denizens.

You can read the full article to learn plenty more about Francesca Jaynes' various work in film and theater alike.